Conclusion: key issues young people in Scotland are facing

This evidence review set out to examine what the available data
tells us about the transition to adulthood for young people in
Scotland today, and to identify any areas of concern for young
people's life chances. Eight areas of potential concern have been
identified. To conclude, we summarise each of these issues in turn,
briefly describing the features of the problem, which groups of
young people it affects, and the outcomes the problem may have for
young people and society more generally.

1) An increasing proportion of young adults are living in
the private rental sector or with their parents, and fewer are able
to save for a deposit to buy their own home

The level of deposit as a percentage of income required for
first time buyers in Scotland is relatively high. This has
contributed to a large decrease in the proportion of younger
households owning with a mortgage over the last decade. Low income
and insecure work are additional barriers to the housing market for
young adults. Debt and/or poor credit history may also make getting
a mortgage difficult for some. Alongside this decline in owner
occupation, there has been a substantial increase in the proportion
of younger households living in the private rented sector, to the
extent that this is now the most common tenure for these
households. The cost of housing as a proportion of income for those
who own with a mortgage is substantially lower than for those who
are renting privately. The cost of private renting may also
contribute to difficulties saving for a deposit.

The housing issues identified are likely to affect a wide range
of young adults, although different groups will have different
needs and preferences, and face different problems. Moreover, where
housing is concerned the issues identified extend into the later
20s and early 30s. For low to moderate income young adults, the
ability to buy their own home may be an issue, particularly for
those who cannot afford a deposit and whose parents are not able to
help. For those on low and/or insecure incomes there may be issues
around access to social renting, the suitability of the private
rental sector - in terms of cost, security and quality - and
ability to pay the rent (especially for those with no family
support). There are also specific issues for those with more
complex housing needs such as disabled young people and care
leavers.

Without being able to access suitable accommodation, young
adults may continue to live with parents and be unable to
transition fully to independence, or be at risk of homelessness for
those without family support. Housing insecurity may also lead to
an inability to build community ties. Moreover, if fewer young
adults are able to buy their own home, there are broader
implications for wealth accumulation and intergenerational wealth
inequality.

2) Young adults are particularly likely to be in low
quality employment compared to older age groups and to past
generations

Labour market changes - such as globalisation and technological
change - have been identified as an underlying driver of
inequality. While the Scottish employment rate has recovered since
the recession, there has also been a growth in part time jobs, and
increases in self-employment, insecure working, and
underemployment. Young adults are especially affected by these
shifts: underemployment and insecurity in the form of zero hour
contracts and an increase in cycling between low paid, short term
work and unemployment have been identified as issues. There is also
a significant inequality in pay with regards to age. Young adults
are overrepresented in low wage sectors such as retail and food
services, which rarely offer career progression.

Less advantaged young adults, especially those with lower levels
of educational attainment, are more likely to experience low paid,
precarious work, and cycling between this and unemployment.
Disabled adults have been found to experience pay gaps compared to
those without disabilities. Despite generally higher educational
attainment, minority ethnic adults are also more likely to be in
low-paid work than white adults, and some minority ethnic groups
face a pay gap compared to white groups. Women dominate low-pay
sectors such as caring and leisure occupations.

The analysis suggests that young adults today struggle in the
labour market in spite of being the most highly educated generation
yet. There is evidence to suggest that young adults in the
UK are more disadvantaged
in the labour market than previous generations, in terms of
unemployment, low pay and job quality. The concentration of young
adults in low quality employment and their difficulty in getting
jobs with reasonable security and prospects has potential
implications for the sustainability of the economy, population
health, and levels of poverty and inequality in Scotland.

3) For a significant minority of young adults labour market
entry and labour market progression are major
challenges

In addition to low quality work, labour market entry is also a
concern for young adults, particularly those with lower educational
attainment. While Scotland performs relatively well on youth
employment rates internationally, unemployment rates for young
adults in Scotland are consistently higher than those for other age
groups and young adults bore the main impact of the most recent
recession. There are concerns that labour market changes are
leading to a growing divide between those with and without skills,
and that those with low or no qualifications will be more
disadvantaged than in previous generations as the demand for skills
increases.

Some groups of young adults face additional barriers to the
labour market. Compared with all young adults, those who are
disabled face higher unemployment. It is suggested that a lack of
practical support for disabled young adults underpins difficulties
with labour market transitions. Young men have a higher risk of
being unemployed. However, young women who leave school early with
poor qualifications are likely to face worse labour market outcomes
than young men with similar characteristics - this is related to
caring responsibilities, and particularly early pregnancy and
motherhood. Unemployment rates for minority ethnic adults are
higher than for white adults.

There is a considerable body of evidence to suggest that being
unemployed when young leads to a higher likelihood of long-term
'scarring' in later life in terms of pay, unemployment, life
chances and health. These effects seem to be stronger for younger
people and those with less school success. The exclusion of some
groups of the population from the labour market is likely to lead
to increasing inequality, with implications for future income,
wealth and health.

4) Young people, particularly those not going directly to
university, are having to negotiate increasingly complicated
transitions from school into employment

Young people today are much more likely to continue in
education, rather than move directly from school into employment as
in the past. This means today's young people are more likely to
have to negotiate increasingly complicated transitions into
employment. This is particularly the case for those who are not
going on to university as a first destination post-school. Young
people from the most deprived areas are less likely to be
participating in education, training or employment than those from
the least deprived areas. They are more likely to go on to study at
college and less likely to go on to university. Young people from
the most deprived areas are also more likely to experience
fragmented post-school transitions than those from the least
deprived areas. They are less likely to stay on at school and more
likely to experience multiple post-school transitions, to be
unemployed when they leave school, or to move into a short term
training programme.

Other forms of disadvantage also have an impact on young
people's transitions. Disabled young people have a substantially
lower rate of participation in education, training and employment
than those who are not disabled. They are also almost twice as
likely to be participating in further education. It is suggested
that disabled young people are more likely to be offered a more
limited range of education and training opportunities than other
young people, often with inaccurate assumptions made about
capabilities. Young carers can experience difficulties balancing
post-school education or employment with caring responsibilities.
Young people leaving the care system are also at a disadvantage.
Looked after children tend to leave school at younger ages and
obtain lower qualification levels on average than all school
leavers. They are subsequently less likely to go on to, and
sustain, positive destinations after school.

Educational attainment and the success of initial post-school
transitions have long-term effects on young people's future
prospects. The level of qualification obtained has a significant
impact on future outcomes: those with higher levels of
qualification are more likely to be in work and higher paid. The
research literature highlights that experiencing an unsuccessful
transition into the labour market has long-term effects, including
on future pay and unemployment. Those with lower education levels
are more affected by unsuccessful initial transitions. Further, at
a societal level, where post-school destinations and future career
are strongly shaped by family background, this limits social
mobility and contributes to a lack of diversity in many
occupations.

5) There is continued gender segregation in subjects
studied during education and training, and in the labour
market

Subject choice in further education and higher education, as
well as in choice of
MA is strongly
gendered. Young men are over-represented in subjects such as, for
example: construction, engineering and computing; and
ICT;
while young women are over-represented in areas such as health and
social care, hairdressing and beauty, and education and training.
Gender segregation in subjects studied at school and beyond is
associated with gender segregation in the labour market, with
'feminised' sectors tending to be low paid. This contributes to the
gender pay gap.

6) Educational attainment is persistently low for some
groups of school leavers

As previously highlighted, educational attainment is a key
driver of access to the labour market, and skills and
qualifications have a significant impact on employment. As has been
widely recognised, there is a persistent gap in educational
attainment between school leavers in the most and least deprived
areas of Scotland. There are also attainment gaps between school
leavers with and without additional support needs, young men and
young women, and looked after young people and those who are not
looked after.

As underlined in the sections above, young adults with lower
qualification levels are more likely to experience less successful
post-school transitions and to be disadvantaged in the labour
market. It has also been suggested that those with no and low
qualifications face greater disadvantage in the labour market than
previous generations. Labour market disadvantage has a broader
impact on future life chances, health and wellbeing.

7) There is some evidence of growing mental health issues
for young people, particularly young women

The proportion of young adults who self-reported to have ever
self-harmed was much higher than for older age groups. The analysis
suggests there may have been increases in the proportions of young
adults self-reporting symptoms of depression and anxiety, and
self-harm. In particular, the analysis raised some potential
concerns regarding the mental wellbeing of young women. Young women
reported lower levels of life satisfaction and wellbeing than young
men. They were also more likely to exhibit signs of a possible
psychiatric disorder and self-report higher levels of self-harm
compared to young men and older age groups. The evidence indicates
that this increase in mental health issues among young women is
manifesting earlier in adolescence. In adults and adolescents,
poorer mental health outcomes have found to be associated with
greater socioeconomic disadvantage, although there is lack of data
specifically on socio-economic disadvantage and mental health in
young adults. Groups with a high risk of mental health issues
include those with experiences of adverse childhood experiences (
ACEs) and
other adversity, for example care leavers and young carers.

Half of adult mental health problems start before the age of 14
and three quarters start before the age of 24. Poor mental health
has an impact on longer-term health outcomes. The ability to engage
in education and employment may also be impacted, which in turn may
have long-term impacts on future prospects.

8) The persistence of health inequalities and slower
declines in rates of certain risky health behaviours in the most
deprived areas compared to the least deprived areas

Rates of smoking, drinking, teenage pregnancy and offending have
all declined amongst young people in Scotland over the last decade.
However, alongside this overall decline, some risks have declined
more slowly in the most deprived areas compared to the least
deprived areas. In particular, young people living in the most
deprived areas are at a higher risk of regular smoking, teenage
pregnancy and spending time in custody compared to those in the
least deprived areas. This pattern reflects broader inequalities in
health across the whole population, which have been shown to be
driven by structural inequalities in income. Moreover, smoking,
teenage pregnancy and spending time in custody all have an adverse
impact on young people's life chances, for example early parenthood
has a significant negative impact on employment prospects and
income, thereby further increasing inequality.